Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i Baseball America

Baseball America debuted its annual college recruiting rankings in 2000. It presented a top five, led by Arizona State. The rankings have since then undergone changes and expansions, first to a “Dandy Dozen” beginning in 2001 and then to a full top 25 in 2006. We now first rank the class on Signing Day every November and then update the classes when the players reach campus, rather than waiting for the players to arrive to produce the initial rankings. No matter what format they take, recruiting rankings are an important part of our college coverage. They help ascertain which schools have the brightest futures. Raw talent is a key component to on-field success, after all. Over the last decade, 80% of the schools that have played for the national championship…

Major League Baseball shocked the baseball world last October when its intention to scale back and reorganize the minor leagues was first reported. MLB made clear it did not want to maintain the century-old status quo that allowed individual minor leagues to define their own geographical footprints or dictate terms of affiliation agreements with major league organizations. MLB wanted minor leagues affiliations that were more permanent, that made greater geographical sense, that were more cost efficient and that had higher facility standards. And MLB wanted fewer minor league affiliates overall. Its plan called for 120 of them—four apiece for each of the 30 organizations—rather than the 160 ticket-selling minor league affiliates that operated in 2019. To achieve that goal, MLB intended to eliminate the entire Rookie-advanced and short-season classifications. Against…

With the college season and NCAA Tournament canceled this year, BA shifted its focus to the future. Rather than focus on Omaha, national writer Teddy Cahill spread his attention around the country to more extensively gauge the strength of incoming freshman classes. The college recruiting classes were more bountiful than usual in 2020 because the truncated five-round draft resulted in fewer high school players being drafted. Thus, more talented prospects made it to campus. For detailed reports for the top 25 recruiting classes, see BaseballAmerica.com. 11. FLORIDA STATE RECRUITING COORDINATOR: Mike Metcalf TOP RECRUIT: Carson Montgomery, RHP (No. 36) 12. GEORGIA RECRUITING COORDINATOR: Scott Daeley TOP RECRUIT: Corey Collins, C (No. 139) 13. TEXAS CHRISTIAN RECRUITING COORDINATOR: Kirk Saarloos TOP RECRUIT: Cam Brown, RHP (No. 131) 14. OKLAHOMA RECRUITING COORDINATOR:…

For nearly a decade, the routine has been the same for Kenley Jansen. The bullpen door swings open, 2Pac and Dr. Dre’s “California Love” blasts from the Dodger Stadium speakers and 50,000 screaming fans rise to their feet to welcome the closer into the game. Dodger Stadium has been known to shake when that scene plays out. Jansen, like most closers, channels that energy and harnesses it, using the energy rush provided by the fans to reach back for a little extra something on his pitches. For the first 301 saves of his career, Jansen could always count on fans in the stands to give him that little shot of adrenaline. Now, with ballparks empty, he’s finding it difficult to come by. “Man it’s hard, I’m not gonna lie about…

American League ● An Orioles prospect makes the shift to left field PAGE 31 ● A young Athletics catcher shows rare power PAGE 33 ● The Blue Jays’ top 2020 pick keeps things simple at the plate PAGE 34 BALTIMORE ORIOLES The Orioles expect Ryan Mountcastle to make his major league debut this season. They’re also counting on him having a set position when he does. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound 23-year-old has been on the move since the Orioles selected him in the first round in 2015. He was a shortstop who shifted over to third base before moving across the diamond to first. Now he’s a left fielder who’s getting lots of reps at the team’s alternate camp in Bowie, Md. Mountcastle, the Triple-A International League MVP last year and the organization’s No.…

During the five-plus months since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States and across the globe, not many people can say that the circumstances have helped them live out a dream. For Phillies catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe, though, there was a little bit of a silver lining. O’Hoppe, whom the Phillies chose out of a Long Island, N.Y., high school with their 23rd-round pick in 2018, grew up rooting for the Yankees and had been to Yankee Stadium on many occasions, both as a fan and as a player for scouting events. The pandemic forced teams into a revamped version of spring training—informally dubbed “summer camp”—that took place in each team’s home park. The brief reboot consisted mostly of workouts and intrasquad games, but also featured a few…

Oct. 18, 2019: Baseball America reports on MLB’s plan presented to Minor League Baseball that would cut the minor leagues from 160 ticket-buying teams to 120. The plan would also resize, restructure and reclassify many minor leagues. Nov. 20, 2019: MLB makes clear ahead of the Owners Meetings that its opening proposal to Minor League Baseball is no negotiating ploy, and that the two sides are in for a bumpy ride. In a letter, MLB states that “most of the players on the rosters of Rookie, short-season and low Class A teams are there to fill rosters so the minor league teams can stage games for their fans, not because the major league clubs require all of those players to develop major league talent.” Dec. 14, 2019: MLB and Minor…

When the California League’s Riverside franchise relocated to High Desert in 1991, it set in motion a game of affiliation musical chairs that was further exasperated when the Dodgers left Bakersfield for San Bernardino in 1995. In the 1990s, 2000s and early 2010s, the Bakersfield and High Desert franchises would put out “vacancy” signs more often than other Cal League clubs during the biennial affiliation shuffle. And major league organizations took often extreme measures to avoid landing in either location when the music stopped, because their parks were so inhospitable to pitchers and their facilities so outdated. The table at right spells out the number of unique parent organizations (not counting co-op arrangements) for high Class A California League franchises between 1991 and 2016. Following the 2016 season, the Bakersfield…

National League ● A young Reds flamethrower puts his secondaries first in his return from Tommy John surgery PAGE 36 ● A Marlins outfielder eschews his family’s football tradition PAGE 37 ● Praise for a young Mets pitcher’s arsenal and makeup PAGE 38 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS Levi Kelly took the ball just twice, but it was enough to thrust him into the conversation for the title of most eye-opening prospect at D-backs summer camp in July. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound righthander, already one of the club’s more intriguing pitching prospects, showed off electrifying stuff in each outing, tossing a combined five shutout innings with no walks and eight strikeouts. Kelly spent the 2019 season at low Class A Kane County, posting a 2.15 ERA with 126 strikeouts and 39 walks in 100.1 innings. The 2018…

Many of the top summer showcases for college players, such as USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team and the Cape Cod League, were canceled for the 2020 season, but other leagues and individual teams from coast to coast pressed on. A good portion of the game’s best players simply elected to forgo playing in wood-bat summer leagues, but there were still plenty of quality prospects on the field. The circumstances just made it so that the most talented players were more spread out than they normally would be and were more condensed on a handful of super teams in various parts of the country. Here, we take a look at some of the top prospects who took the field and looked the part in this unique summer season. JUD FABIAN, OF,…

Will anyone ever look back at 2020 wistfully? We’re in the middle of a year that will likely be a test item for our great-grandkids’ history classes, which isn’t exactly something that seems all that enjoyable to be living through in the present. While baseball found a way to play in the major leagues, this season will always be known as a desert of discontent. There was no minor league season, no College World Series, very little high school baseball, and the shortest draft in history. Many knowledgeable baseball people have been furloughed or have lost their jobs. Without revenue coming in during the season, those job losses were inevitable while teams and owners tried to figure out a way to survive for 18 months without meaningful income. The coronavirus…